Breakthrough Church (00:00.92)
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Breakthrough Church podcast. Excited to be with you, have some more testimonies from this last Saturday. And just want to share my heart, as always, on a few things I feel like the Lord's speaking to me. This last Saturday was our first Easter, although it was Saturday, it felt weird, we weren't celebrating on Easter Sunday, but that's okay. He rose, not this Sunday, he rose many, many Sundays ago, if you didn't know that.

by the way. So it was so special, so sweet. I told Sal that it felt like launch day again, kind of just like this excitement, another first together. And you know, when you're raising a baby, all the firsts are a big deal. The first time they crawl or roll over, the first time they crawl, the first time they walk, all of that. So it was another first for us and just exciting. man, I guess I have a lot to share. I'm going to try to keep it really concise.

because there's a lot leading up to Saturday. As always, it's the Lord's leadership. He's so good. He's always working when even we don't think he is. And so last Tuesday, I went and received inner healing and deliverance prayer. I've never done that before. And I'll spare the details on why, but I did, I did it and felt God leading me to do that. And it was two and a half hours of just anointed ministry over me.

Man, it was crazy. And I won't go into all the details, but they did inner healing, brought me back to some memories from childhood where I had taken on false identities, where I had believed some things that weren't true and invited Jesus into those memories and exchanged the lie and received the truth. Just a quick example, somewhere along the lines, I had taken on the job of trying to fix people and...

I did I tried to well, hold on. Let me me let me change that I'll say this from a very early age God had called me to ministry and I didn't know it and it was profound me processing with the Lord in this prayer time That the call to ministry and to do what I'm doing right now started when I was a kid a very long time ago I always thought it started in college. I got called to ministry in college obviously, if you know God's sovereignty and providence it happened before the foundations of the world, which is

Breakthrough Church (02:25.88)
Bonkers to think about but back in this memory and again, I'm not gonna go into the details but in this memory I was trying to Make someone feel better and make somebody Feel comfortable By changing myself and Becoming a chameleon so I can I can change and shift how I act and who I am around different people and it's actually

This is gonna sound crazy. It's actually in an effort to be pastoral, to love people, but it's all twisted and out of whack, because you can't love people that way by changing yourself, right? So anyways, I told the Lord I was doing that in this memory. I gave him the job of trying to fix people by changing myself and that pressure. I gave him the job and he gave me a new job. He said, feed my sheep. And I was like,

Okay, how's that different than what I was trying to do? And he said, I said, feed my sheep, not fix my sheep. And that was really profound for me. And I think of Peter's restoration after the resurrection, when Jesus says, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? He says it three times to restore him and his response, he gives him a job, he says, feed my sheep. And it exposed that there's a part of me that wants to try to change who I am and how I talk and what I do.

in an effort to fix people to get to where I feel like they should go, which is a twisted way of looking at pastoral ministry. The heart behind it is I really want to lead people into the fullness of God. But the the motive or the method and and how sin has tainted that is one in which I try to fix people. And it just freed me up. It just freed me up. And so this is leading into Saturday. So so there's there's this moment of prayer and inner healing and deliverance prayer that I received. I just felt so free.

Not that I was immune to attacks because when you get free and healed like that, the enemy hates it wants to come in. So the next couple days were actually really tough because it was almost like I took four steps back. If I took three steps forward in that ministry time, I took four steps back and I was really struggling with fear and lack of faith and just like, was it real? Did I really get free? Did I really get healed? Which is so normal, guys. Do not freak out if you have an amazing encounter with God and immediately things get hard.

Breakthrough Church (04:45.666)
That is the most normal thing. I want to set you free from pressure of legalism, trying to perform, to recreate what God did. And you just believe that it happened. Just have faith that he set you free and healed you. And I think this happens spiritually. I think it can happen physically. Maybe God touched you physically. And then a couple of days later, it feels like things get worse. I do believe there's a place for saying, no, I was healed. I believe it in Jesus' name. That doubt, when it creeps in, can actually steal.

the healing that was taking place in your body. I believe that. More so now than ever. So, okay, on top of that, I feel like the Lord really released me when it comes to preaching. of fixing my sheep, feed my sheep, so instead of using scripture as a way of fixing people, using scripture as a way to feed people. Totally different. So, I'm skipping a lot, I don't want to go into all of it. How it manifested this last week was,

I just opened Mark 16. I picked the first eight verses and I I preached from it and I got a word from it and I I prepared it as I would if I was preaching at the branch where I came from. I was like not afraid to just hey just preach the message, preach the text. I just had so much pressure to try to take a text in scripture and form it and morph it into the antidote that I thought that my people needed. And thankfully it wasn't. Sorry.

Thankfully, it wasn't like I was beating people over the head yet. I could see how people could get there. But thankfully, I hadn't done that. And God corrected me early enough where I was able to take Mark 16 and just use it as such an encouraging word just to build people up, inspire people, get them excited to see Jesus, His resurrection.

And I felt so free in my sermon prep, which was so nice. I didn't realize how not free I felt. It felt such like a heavy burden. And it's a responsibility that's important and we got to take it seriously. But it was such a heavy burden and I just felt like the Lord released me from that. So going into Saturday, I just was like letting loose. And to be honest, I didn't feel great going into service. I was like, I don't know what God's gonna do. I don't know what's gonna happen here. I'm not entirely sure if God's even here right now. But you know, I'm going by faith. I'm going by faith. It doesn't matter how I feel. I'm going by faith right now.

Breakthrough Church (07:02.35)
We go to service and we have worship, which was great and anointed. We pressed in and took communion. And then I preached my message that the Lord gave me and just felt so free preaching it. was so fun preaching from that place of being prepared and having notes. And it just felt like free, which sounds counterintuitive, but it was anyways. All that to say, I ended the message with what it says in Mark 15 or sorry, Mark 16 versus

15 to 20 and it talks about the mission that Jesus gave them to go and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation and then he says and then you should expect healings and signs and wonders and divine protection and all of these things you should expect them when you're proclaiming the gospel why because it says that the Lord's he was ascended to see sit at the right hand of the Father and the Lord worked with them no no it says and they preached everywhere and the Lord worked with them to confirm the message

with signs and wonders, which is such a cool way of thinking about it. They went to preach and the Lord was there. As the gospel is preached, the Lord Himself, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit is there in the atmosphere touching people, opening hearts, opening minds, doing something that you and I could never do on our own. We're faithful witnesses to preach the gospel. The Holy Spirit is there doing His thing. So when the gospel's preached, we should expect

people to be healed and delivered to confirm not the person preaching but to confirm the content of the message that they're preaching. Signs and wonders healing deliverance it confirms the message that the kingdom is here through the King Jesus. So I preached this and then I was like so what should we expect and I asked for response I was like hey guys I just preached the gospel what should we expect to happen now and they were like well signs and wonders.

Logical, right? So let's do it. And so we invited the Holy Spirit, invited people forward for prayer, and then had some great encounters. Two I'll mention, one I'm not sure how it turned out in terms of where that person's at today, so I won't mention that one. But prayed for one woman who has been coming to Breakthrough really since the beginning. I met her over by UTD doing ministry over there, and she's eventually started coming and all this stuff, and really cool. Well, she needed prayer for her foot.

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because it was chronically just in pain and a dull seven constantly hard to walk whenever she stands up and puts her foot on the ground tons of pain and And she says it shoots all the way up her back to which I'm like, I don't know what that is I'm not a doctor, but that doesn't sound good So I said, let's pray for it She sat down She put her foot on I'm just remembering everything she put her foot on the chair

I laid my hand on her ankle, like right above the top of her shoe and just said, come Holy Spirit. And I saw her toes started to move and I was like, are you doing that? And she was like, no, my feet, my foot just got really tingly and warm. And I was like, sweet. That's the Lord, he's doing it. Like you should be encouraged. Your foot's about to get healed. And she was like excited and.

And so as I continue to pray very simple prayers, she said, my back is starting to feel it too. I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, yeah, this cooling, it's almost like there's icy hot on my lower back. And I was like, let's go, the Lord is touching you, let's pray for this. And so we bless what the Lord was doing, which is what you do in healing. You never just try to force something, you just try to see what God's doing. What is God doing on the person or in the person and then go there with them. Don't try to force anything or initiate anything. So I'm just blessing what God is doing.

and told her to stand up and walk and her pain was gone. Her pain was gone. Wait, no, no, correction. Her pain was down to like maybe a three. But her back was feeling really good. And I said, okay, walk around a little bit, walk around a little bit. And as I'm praying for her, Sal is behind me praying for another woman that's been a part of our church since the beginning who has a bad knee. I don't know how that prayer time went. I don't know what was said or prayed for. I heard Sal going in. I'm like, yes, sir. That's awesome.

So he's praying for her knee and I'll just share really briefly. She texted us the next day and said she woke up free of pain. She's had knee pain for a while. No pain in her knee when she woke up the next day. Praise God. And then the woman that I had been praying for came back and was like, yeah, the pain's gone. And I said, awesome. Let's just keep, I just really feel like the Lord is touching you right now. Let's pray. And she was, cause she had testified to like my hands being hot. She was feeling hot. And I'm like, let's just keep going. So I was laying hands, I was praying.

Breakthrough Church (11:49.198)
I started to pray and asked the Holy Spirit to touch her and she got weak in the knees almost fell over and I yelled at two guys Jake and Luke as a guys get over here and then I realized wait There's chairs here. Just just sit down. She sat down and just continued to pray and the Lord highlighted some things she needed to forgive some things that she needed healed inside of herself and There were tears the whole the whole thing, you know what? I mean the whole thing and and she got touched and healed

physically and internally. texted her the next day and she's like, I feel really good. I have no pain. Come on. Let's go. I am so jazzed right now because I feel like we're leaning into who God's made us to be, which is gospel center. We're going to preach the gospel. We're going to walk in freedom from the law, from sin, just marked by joy, preach the risen Lord and see him do what he's always been doing.

He's still doing the same stuff, guys. The stuff that he was doing when he walked the earth, he's still doing it now as we walk the earth, empowered by his Holy Spirit. We just have to expect it. We just have to lay hands and just by faith, even if we don't feel it, just do it. It'll happen. It will happen. Not everybody you pray for will be healed, but it will happen. Someone will get healed. Try it out. Just try it. Like I just challenge you, just try it. Lay hands on somebody. Next time they say, oh, I have a headache or my shoulder hurts.

Just say, can I pray for you that right now? Lay hands and then do it and just see the Lord work. It's amazing. yeah, like I said, there's another woman that was prayed for and the jury's out. I'm not sure how that went or where she's at, but that was a little bit more of a deal than the other two, which were a little bit more surfacey in terms of maybe didn't go deeper into the heart, into the spirit. But anyways, I don't know if the other one did either. So I'll let you know, but.

Breakthrough Church (13:50.914)
Yes, okay, so that was the conclusion of our journey through the Book of Mark and we're gonna pick it up in Galatians this coming Saturday. Galatians has always been an amazing book for me. Every moment in my life that has been transformative, where I look back, that was a Kairos moment, a moment when things shifted in my heart and my life. It's always been surrounding the concepts found.

and the things that Paul talks about in Galatians. He touches on faith and the work of the Holy Spirit, and your life is triggered by faith, not by works of the law. It's where you get the fruit of the Spirit. It is just gold, and it's so good, and it's so gospel-centric. What he's doing is he's trying to build faith in them.

so that they can continue to mature in Jesus and see the Holy Spirit work among them. And he builds faith by reminding them of the first time they believed. So he goes back to their origin. He even goes to the law. He goes to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Sarah and he'll really flesh out and build their faith by going to the law. And he's very Christ crucified centered.

And he uses logic. It's just the whole book is him. I feel like just trying to build their faith saying guys, faith is how you got in the game. Faith is how you stay in the game. Don't start trying to do this by the flesh. You started by the spirit. You're not going to be matured by the flesh. Stay in the spirit. Keep going and watch the Holy Spirit work among you. Stir one another up. Love one another. Bear one another's burdens.

by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so I'm very excited because it's going to teach us how to walk by faith. The life we live right now in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Escalations 2.20. Probably a coffee mug verse. You guys probably haven't memorized. It's so powerful. I'm just excited because this morning on all two more things. This morning I was just praying and the Lord just led me this morning in my time with him and

Breakthrough Church (16:11.086)
I wanted to abide. I wanted to abide in Him and stay in Him. And I was realizing, you do that by faith. There's no other way to abide in the Lord. People think, well, to abide you have to pray. No, no, no. That is not what Jesus taught. You should pray. So don't ever hear me say you shouldn't pray. Prayer is a huge part of my life, should be of yours. You do not abide in Jesus by praying. You abide in Jesus by believing in what He's already done for you.

It's really that simple. If you simply right now in this moment just had faith in the finished work of Jesus, you would be ushered in to the eternal life now, the realm of the Spirit and the kingdom of the beloved Son. You would immediately become aware, your eyes would open and you would be able to see the realm that you live in is not of this world. Although your feet touch the earth, your heart and spirit feel like they're in heaven. That's what it feels like to be in faith, to live this life in the flesh by faith in the Son of God.

And so just believe that Jesus really did what he said he did, that he revealed a loving, gracious, compassionate Father who's got an amazing plan for you, who thought of you before the foundations of the world. can't stop thinking about you. He sent his Son to not spare his only beloved Son for you. That's true. And if you just believe it, man, the flesh in you will be cut off and you will enter into the righteous, eternal, blessed life now.

and nothing in your life may seem to be changing except everything inside of you is changing all at once. It's powerful. It's really powerful. Some of the fruit of this already is this, what do I call it? You can call it faith or you can call it just motivation. It feels like a cheap word for what I'm trying to, I feel compelled to share the gospel and to see people come to know Jesus and get baptized. I want breakthrough church.

one year's time to be full of people who are baby Christians and they became Christians because of the ministry of Breakthrough Church. I'm not saying Breakthrough can do it. It's the Lord, but because of the intentionality of our efforts, I want to see down the stream in a year the work we're doing right now will result in people later knowing and believing and following Jesus in our community as Breakthrough Church. And so we're gonna invite

Breakthrough Church (18:35.182)
Some people in to help equip us and train us. gonna I'm gonna get some things on the calendar be more consistent I feel like I've really failed not in like I don't feel condemned but I feel like I really dropped the ball and following up and following through with some evangelism stuff, so I'm stepping my game up, but here's here's what I want you to hear me say No one not everyone is called to be an evangelist But everyone every Christian is called to be mobilized with the gospel and their everyday life

You come across people all the time, all the time, that need Jesus. And you are there in their life to be a witness. And to be a witness doesn't just mean act really kind so that they'll eventually ask you about your faith. Guys, that's never happened to me. And that doesn't mean I'm not living the gospel life.

That text is talking about persecution when you're persecuted living such a life that people look at you and be like, yo, how are you doing this? That is what it's talking about. What I'm talking about is to be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus, the risen Lord in the lives of those around you. You're going to have to open your mouth. You're going to have to embrace it. Cross the chicken line, embrace the awkward and just go there. And here's how you can do it. OK, two things. Who's your one? All right. Who's the one person in your life?

that does not know Jesus, that you're in their life because you know Jesus and they need to know Jesus. Who's that one person? Don't think of five, don't be an overachiever like me and get 12 people because Jesus had 12 disciples and I'm gonna have 12 disciples and don't do that, just one, okay? And then I want you to share your 15 second testimony. You're like, what's a 15 second testimony? Glad you asked, here it is. 15 second testimony. There was a time where I struggled with insecurity and addiction.

but Jesus forgave me and I chose to follow him and now I walk in freedom and joy. Do you have a story like that? Easy, easy money. Here's what you do. You start with there was a time when, that's what you start with. There was a time when, and then two words that describe what your life was like before you met Jesus. Mine was insecurity and addiction. I was addicted to pornography and I was insecure in my relationships. So I just say I struggle with insecurity and addiction. And then the cross entered in and we say Jesus forgave me.

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and I chose to follow him. So two F's, forgave and follow. I chose to follow Jesus and now, so what's life like after you decided to follow Jesus and met him? And now my life, or now I walk in freedom and joy. That sounds like a compelling testimony and it took me like less than 15 seconds to share it with you. Two words that describe your walk with Jesus after you were forgiven and decided to follow him. So there was a time.

when I struggle with insecurity and addiction. But Jesus forgave me and I chose to follow him and now I walk in freedom and joy. It's that simple guys. I would encourage you as a really practical way of applying this, before the week is over, before Sunday, write out your 15 second testimony and say it in the mirror three times. Okay, two words before you met Jesus.

And two words after you followed Jesus that marked what it was like. And then in the middle is Jesus forgave me and I decided to follow him. And now my life is marked by, or now I walk in and I want you to say those two words. it's really easy. You can even YouTube, go on YouTube and look up 15 second testimony. There's trainings on it. It's so simple, but it's so easy because someone, your one might come to you and share something that's hard or share something they're struggling with. And you can say, hey, look, I get it.

I get it, there was a time when I struggled with insecurity and addiction, but Jesus forgave me. And I chose to follow him and now I walk in freedom and joy. And I believe he can do the same for you. Isn't that so powerful? It's so simple and so powerful. just encourage you to do that this week and I would love to hear testimonies. Text me, many of you text me after podcasts and just say, hey, thanks for that or whatever. And so, we'd love to hear from you guys or email me back after the newsletter goes out.

As always, we pray Tuesday morning at 5.15 at the Farmers Branch Campus of the branch. We pray and worship on Wednesday evenings at 6.30 p.m. at Loft City Church in Richardson. And we have service at 5.00 p.m. every Saturday at Loft City Church, 1320 Holly Drive, Richardson, Texas. Would love to see you at all or any of those. Love you guys. He is risen. He is risen indeed. I'll see you next time.